toltnaves. that t pcess we're gng thugh right now. we'r gnghrough theross of lki a what'thbest way trerm the t ce d wer taras for businesses antoakthe amecan tax stem iernationally competite? ght n, iliterally o the worst tax sysms in the dustrialized wd. wld. we are losing companie we ve nctive thatasically tell comni, tsrce your manufacturing. why are we inthat? bie, ts is, agai we'r workingen this. fixing ppls obms tt why ta roriso critil and i do believe tt there are very serious and legitimate concnso y version of tax reform and wha t accommodate the as weovto new taxes. >> mr. saker, two qstions llowinp raches question, can u ouald abthe russian investigio can u talk about where the quti omr. trump's retishitmr.omeynd potentialbsucon of ste

issuhould ll, you saiyou wa tget theacts on that. on health care,nserare gettgea tseras, d you think there's any possibility -- >>he house gaveling ba ion a5-nute vote a measure relating to e ath palty on the kiinof l eorceme offirs. spdg the rules a painh. 12. their electron vote wl be conucd as a 15-minute vote. e remaining econ vote lle condted as a veinute vote. thunnied business is the ve on passage oh. 1 on which t yeas anna a ordered. the cler will report t title ofhe bill. the clrk: union calendar number 69. r.1 a bill t aentitle 1 united as deto provide additional aggvang facto for thempitn of the deh penalty based on the status o the ctim. thspker p mpore the estion ion passa of the ll. members ll recd their votes by electronic device.

this is a 15-mine te. aioning made possib b the natialaponing institu, c.in cooperation wi t united states hou o representatis. any use of the os-ctied cora othe house oceedis for politicaor coeral purposes is expressly ohited bth u.s. housef representatives.]

the ear pro mpore: on this ve he yeas are 271. the nays a 1. e ll is passed. without obction,he motn to ecsidersaid on the table thunniedbusiness is th vote on the motion of the ntleman fromirnia, mr. goodlatte, tsuenthrules anpa h. 1892 on ich th yeas and nays record. the clerk wl repo t title of the bil. the erk:nion calenr mber 7 h.r 1892, llo end tit uned states ce to provide fr the flyg othe flaat hf-afin th event of the dthf fst responder inheline of ty. the saker pro tempore: e question is willhe house susndhe rulesanpass the ll. meerwil cord their vot ectronic device this is a fe-mine te. [captioning deossible by thnaonal captioning institute,nc., in cooperatio wh the unit stehoe of representis. anysef e osed-captied cora of the hoe oceedings for policaor commeralurposeis expresy ohit bthe u. hsef presentatives.]

thspke pro tempore: on thivo e yeas are 411 thnays are one. /3 havg snd in th afirti, the rules are suend,hbill ipassed, d thout objection th motion toecsider laid the ble. he house wilben order. e use wi binrd. memberwi pas take tir seats. theouse will be in oer membe lllease move theicoertion fm the u floor. the hoeilbe in order.

th house will be in orr. hhoe wi be inrd. e hou will bin order. meers, eeeve your coeration om the house oo house will be iorder. for what ppo does e gentlem fmeorgiaee recognion? mr. woodall: mr. sear, ask unimous connt to ea out

order forhe purpose of makg an announcement. th rules committee hairud annnouncent outlining the amendment prceesor tee measures atiliky be beforehe rules comtt nt ee hemementeadlinh been set for ndy,ay 2 for 10:00 foh.53t reducing regulaty burns act of 20. ronday, may2, at 3:00 p.m. for.r1761, e protecting against child exploitation act of 27. an tueay, may 23, at0: a.m. fo h. 19, the pteing young victims from seal abuse acof 27. the tet tseeares, m spear, is aaiblon the resommittee website this ti and u can el free to contact the res committee witnyqutions regardg the endment process. iield ck the balancef my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georg ylds back e lae of his time. . the speer pro tempo: the ntman from georg yld ck the balce of his te.

the hse wl in orr. e air will entertain questsfor one-minute speeches. f what rpseoeth gtlan from nebraska sk recognition? >> ask unanims nst to adess the house r e inute. thspker pro tempor t genemn lsuspenfone moment. e house wl be oer. members, please remove ur conveatnsrothhouse floor. the hoe will be in order. usewill be inrder. the gtlemanronebraska is ecnized. >>i ise today to ask my coeues to jo me in suprt krrorasko act. was killewhile serving a wra toonvicd felon. may 20, 25ilbe a mber daynhe omaha area. firstesponders put thei les tine torotect ctins

when hwaild,erusnd w ginthrougth pcess to in u.s. citizenship. he hs ermous responsibilitie as a sineart and s nds to have the same protections h.r. 19ould give the manof our firstesnderspee mi to know even in death, eisurviving led oneca contin the iigration pres. this wldamend the acto allow for the sviing faly embers to be natriz. current lllwsurent membersf u.s mitary members illed tctie th thei tizenship applicati. 1970 will exten tt privilege to first reonders. wewe itto fallefirst responders to pass r.1970. look forward to worng th decrs a rubca to

ve them th peacofinas eyead o the door to see thr communities. d yield bk. thspkep tpo: for wh purpose does the gelewomafrom ohise coition? >i ask unanious consento are the housfor one minute. the speakerprtempor whout oecon. mr beatt as a stroke suivor, iecognize thetre diseend those tohe by american familieeh ar. wenothisk of stroke ineas each year but strokes ca occ aany age. in fact,very 4sends, someo in the unit stes ffs a stroke. and evy urites, smeone diesfr atre. strokes e fth lei causofeath he united states, killing nrly 1,000 amerca p yr.

to help rais aressn ow rosffctmeca fm amera, i'm re-intrucg my relution recognizing m sotin as publi awareness moh. andcontinuing the coordination doorationetween sercrs famils and vot f ipring treatmes for indidus wo suffer stres. geer, we can combat ts illnesanortogetr owards lo-tm solution t prevtre and iro the lives of thos sufferinfr roke. i thank my cleues from oo, congresmapat tibe for joining me as anriginal co-sns in this biparsan eort. and i asktrsoleaseign on. and i yiel bk. thspkeprtpe: for whapurposdo the ntma from azo sk recognition? > permission tadesth

house for oeine. without obcon >> last ee iga visited e arizona-mexi border and vitenoales a on a indian reseatn. asn izona native i have sited the border. muchf e fenng saw wou ep ltle. allinanyoneo etethe united stat. rder patrol enr outnumbered byllal aens. drael scouts a human smuggls. the chlogy in places inequate. our citizens are inanr d ou cizens are iner. mr.peer, president trump pmid to build a border wall d i stand with h. t that s only thfirst ste we must iree borr tr agtand flynforceou

immigration law the eentures and forts ar necessarand worth t cost. iis timeo do wt we saide uldo. iie bk. thspeakeprtempore: t use wille rder. llmebers tehe convsations ofthhouse oo fowh ppose does the ntman from californ seek recognition? permissiotoddsshe house r one nu. the spear o tempore: tht jetion. >> i rise trecognize carg a mb of thsan bnardino coutyh sve presiden of unirty of califoia at n berndino. heasierce advoca oour studensndveeeing fculty od studen and raising tens millions o llars. he was iesngis personal meo make the inland eira beerlace to lve. h serd on the educatna

unti a ecom partnersp d commuty hospital san bernardi. justast month, al wn offi the infan toder successrogram woin with arents and care giveertoel theme ady for sooan life. i thankthdoctor t me o egnome a worldls gion through calstate s bernardino and o behalf sabernarno famiies. we ve thanks to his contributionso ur cmmity icwiivotois sten that he helped. thanyou, mr. speaker, yiel back e speaker pro teor for at purposdo t gentewafr arizo seek recognition? >> pmiion to address the hose f one mut the speakerroeor: without jtion. msmcsal: ri tod t commemorate naon pice week d plaud the 900,000 l

enfoement officernaonde. la yar, aronlo some of our fnest. ose w pid the ultimat sacrife. officer dav gsser was kled inhe linof duty lving hi sifantw chdren. senior officefrk navajo naon.d. was killedas gut. he is rvedyifand children ofceof show low was shot isas demberee aw omi retireme. eaves behd aifand son a daht. we cannot repay the dt and the o serve in law enfoement aonourorder an we lenit from the courage oborder patrol aen. stugust, weost a bde paoagt o i svid by s wife anfo children and a garcia. weost edgar

we owehe m d their amieforheir tite saife and a dt of atitude who serve usod and eryay iuniform. wit tt, yield bac e speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does theentleman from califoraee recoitn? >> i k unams const to drs e house for one minute. wiouobjection. heentleman is recognedor oneine. >> thank youmr speker. i rise today about the needor investmen in our infrastructure. as we knowh week is natiol infrasucture wk. and in m distrtn the centl asof califoia we need infrastructu investmen not justor ouroads, forur water stes and rural broadband busothgi ed growngp, the transisystem thbusyem played an mptant re not just in lifutn m omyquts constien' life. sdes use he tnsit system to attndchls in my re d

employee u ts fm of transptation when th travel to hgh-tecobs to hostal bsn e ntey area. thtrsi stes mes it moreccsie d lp t regional ecom t theenefits dot d with our rider with tnt, ouros xpience ss wea and ar ur envirnmt d our enviroen is ptected. i kn my dirict isn'tnique fo the nd infraruure investment. our entire country needsit les contueto do o jobs here in eore a inst in our ansit st and frtcte ur government ca domhing for ourhomes an famli. than yu. the speakerro temreor what purseoes the geleman ro ohio see recognition? >> ask unanimous coento addresshehouse r o mite t saker p tpore: without jeion. the gentlemans ecnid f

one minute. mr. eaker, rise day arosa hing uched the liv ofo many weld elde stre wene aferim that sot was fi becaus acrding to buddy, at i t spot erheold shoppi bs for three cents wh hwa 10 year o. isasthbenning h pizz epi. a grea pizza i'thionly ontribioto the cincinni area. not b aong shot. buddy is o o t most generous ople ha owin my li and dedicad his time d er mki many ntbutionsupporting the peoplofurcouny. d changi tir lives. nameg buddy ra ay is a reminder how cinciathabeen

angedyis heart and sl. ank you,ud. i yield bk. the ear o emrefo at purpose does the ntma fr californi sek regnion? >> permission to ares e hoseoon mut aeve and extd my mas. the speaker pro tpo: without objection. >> tank yo vy ch, mr spke i'm privigeanhore tbe mebe othouse. d is vy rustrang for t come hereeek afterweek d n do t busins of eeoe of t uted states ofmeca and one o tse ipedemes is have a president of the united states whosrygo foe andusthis congrs and manyths in his miisation do thingthat a n rht forhe people and this country. mr. carden: i tnkt's mportant for us ndstd that when d if you g an ptuty toead t gislation calledrumpce, you wilreali what it'bo tmp doesn ce ouour

al ce. plase, jt read it. i alogize foralngbo e 4 mli-ps erican hoill lose their healtca if ts bill becomesaw ineed to remin you, ch indidu, u wi lelthe ability to se a doctor if this bi bomes law. pleaseplse hp s,ads an gtlen pleaseocus owhat going on re inasngtonndhat i t in ohere in whito. r ur sake a all of ou, i yildack. the speaker po mpore:or what rpe esheentlem from west virginise recognion >> pmission to adess t hoe fornmitend riz and tend m remas. the peerroemre without objectn. > ce stedepartment relio show that president s contins inflictg atrocities on his ow people. in t discovery of eual

siteill ma i more diicult aout fothe tusands exuted by aad. accorngoumou nongovernmta organizions, heasbductebeeen ,000 and1700eeen01an 2015. edible ror heheege executing uto 50 ppl dly asd us thexce of fighng terrorism to jtify this cpan agaitnne civilians. know he has usedas graves todiosof the cpses of th murded. this must sp. i'm pudo repst syri -erican in carston, wt viginia a ea condn the atrocies committd president aad. an i yield back. the eaker o mpe:or wh ppo does e entlewan from florida ek recognition? >> ask unaniusonnt to addss the house for e minute

an revisend extend. thspker pro tempore: who objection s. wasrm sul: i rise day tcelebrate t lfe of dr. aah fshr. he wasnef south flori's edationpioneers and sved as n.s.u. esent's well a member of the broward coun school board. he w an inspiration heerved at psint when i was mb of the sffnd providg wiseouel and idce. der to invest in our studes,ou ne tinvest i our tchs. and ere are more an 10,000 sten enrolled in th sool ofducation. shad unesiv and will be meered t su our students succeed. our sdes are ppad take le. m outsreot oyit his wife shle a wh e udts, faculty ata

naniverty. iid bac . hepeaker pro tempor witht objection, the entleman is recognizedor one minute. m speaker, rise to honor the li and legacy, meor an good rid, llm colem jr., who ss away earer this year at tgef 96 mr. hill:hrought his yng 1948, bill - i became the first rin-erano serve as law clerkon e united states upreme court and helped draft the legal brief f t mak1954 case bwn v board ofducati. bill becamour send afcaamic cabinet oficial, rving as tranportationecretary f geraldor. maeconnd

prayertoisovd ones, staff. mr. speaker, iie back the lce of my te. the spker pro tempo: for wh ppo ds e ntman frm nnsylvia see coition? >>r.peaker, seek unanius consent to address the us for oneine. the speaker prteore: witutbjti,the enem iregnized forne ite > ank y, m. ear. thiwe it is prile to honoth men and wenf law enfoent who put the lives e line every singleay t keepsafe. in my hetownf philadelia and acro the ti, pole firs serve our communies th immeasurablouage. mr.oy: everpolice offer oes to work knowg atny y cou be their st in philadphia alone, more an60 police officers throughout oucity's sty ve lost ei lives. one thing cgrs that w cold doto show just how much hor tir sacfice is to ac the legislati tt mylflong withongrema

ipatricenators cas a omeyntroduced. wld he aid forhe childr oth fleofaw enrcenan first responders who dd the line du. e cldren of thealn roesawnforcent act is ppted bll of theaw enforcen community. alough we cod not pay the debtoho fils who made the ultasacrifice, lvehi wl be an importantteithright dirti. . peer, i yield back. the speakepr tpo: for whatpuose ds the gentleman frm virginia seek regnio >> m ear, i ruest unimous consent toddres the housfoonminute th speak p tempo: tht objectio t ntleman is recogzefoone miute. >> m sak, i rise t cknowldge th gre m a women of law enfoemt. as yokn,t's nationala foement ek first estabshy esident nny 12. imagine wakingp everyorng rolling out of your bed,

rubi youry, getting dressed r wor ksg a ve one gode for atay be the ver last tim mraylor: you walou your or not thiing abouthe potenaldaett ai you,ot questni w the rs i asking forel not hesitatng to ep in the li fre should you equired to. te th i said you. you rubican, y a democrat, black,hite,ro, g or straig, r l types don the uniform ery day. meanwomen of l focentrepeal breed amosts. theirisa high clior servic thy e prt of the ry fabric our society, and wiouth wwodotave order, anou lawwod worthless for thosm domen ola enfcent virgia's second district and the arounheatn, wthank u. yourilngness touthe safety ofotrsbove your o demds respe, recognitn

anfoom rembrance. tha you,r. speerand i eld the rt m te. the speerroemreor what purpose es th gentlon omorth carolina erecognition? ms. ams: request unanimous cosent to address the hse for one mut m sak. the eaerrtempore: without objection, t genewans coiz 1. ms. ams:redent trump firedhe f.idict come ma 10, the psintetith e ssian ambaador i t whe usanthhaed threasonorirg me on may 11, ianntviith lester holt, presidtru miedh theussian iestigatiowas a ftor in fingom. y2 appeared tohrt om sinhe bteho ere are ntas of eir coertns. y , weearned trump ar code wd cssfi tlincwith russian ambassador ma16, comey'me of hi coersation withresident trump quote h sying, hope you c s yurayle t letti ts o.

ery day bng aew scanl. the appoiment direcor mules special prosecutor is a goofit steb shouldn boula. we need an indennt commiio fe mdlg omhe trump administrion. our democracy depends oit iidack. the eerro temre for aturseoes th gentlom fromoh carona seek rogtion? ms. foxx: i ask anous consento addre t hse foonmiut mr. speak. the speep tpo: without oecio t gentlewomans coized f e mine. msfoxx: hank you,r. spear. i rise tdayo honor wli "dc" lo of oak ridge, north caola do iaetanhoerd under theomanofenal paon in world wa ii. riserce, the united stes award him o prp hearts, oroeta, the good condt med, e amicanamign mel d t mbat ianyad. doc has wketilelyo help his fello cizs unerstand teaning of freedom andnsehe

crices me o balff our naon are t forgte i 24,hearin fieldf horped triad park to n all who served or hav rvedn e med forces of thuned stas ara. one o t bge suppte, doc, psonallspsoed t oftsilary service monument the u.s.rmmonument andthe u.s. navy monume. saturday, ma7, fily and ids will gather to celebteth remarblmas 93irday. nortcalia orna to call doc o o i own. i yield ba, mr. saker. the speerroemre for wh purpose does e gentlewan from n rkeek cnion? without jei, e gentlemaisecnized r nmiute.

mr mloy:r.peaker, this is a pictef the mmtee r republican colags in the senatha p tetr an tked wh cfting a alth ce bill thati affect the hltca o ts of millionsf american women. and jt quicklance at this posteres uthe' n one prs o ts committee o will ev bear chd ne maternity car er's no e nhis commte that will everneed a mammra no onen is comtt will ev have twoy abouhain thr aestoffdae ntraceptis prenatace tanway from them. an yett healtbi that s deliver to t senate callously would makeeah care seices a insurance coerage eithernafordab o

unavailableo miio of stgging, hardrkg women. cegain, we find that our reblican colleues are makingifaltering decisions without a single woman at th table, ignoring theery ral ryruel eects oth hose-passed bll on eran milie and women. cega, mr. speaker, w ask, where a the women? th sak p tpore: f whaturse doethgentleman fromiigan seek recoitn? >>i k anous consento adess the houseor one minute. t saker pro tempo: without objection,he gentlen is rognized foone miut >> mr. speaker,ax ror is a key conrnfo sllusiness ns a hdworki residents imy strict myredecessor, former waysnd meshama dave cam hod efrmur nios buenmeax code. today, the ws and an commite took up this work

aginecse our taco nes to besiler, fairen fltt for mhin fils. mr. mooleartarerm will befit michigan resints of l co lve by making it sror them tcaulate an flehe tax ror whi lowerinthr x rden. thfit bill i intruc michigan's urth strict rerentivwalegislation that woulme eaeror mhin famils p f childcare 'sy pe that his wi beme parof ts t rorm paag our taxodwalapded in 1986. it te fr a change. i ho this cones will pass ta ror f t 2t nry thank you, mr.hama i el bk. the spak p tpore: for what purseoe t gentwon om calornia seerecogni? >> isknamous conen to drs the use for on minute antoeve d extend rar. thepeerroemre: thtbjecti, the gelewomais recognid r one minute. >mrspeaker, iis tayo hor atciaroughton, my casewoern . pedr californ, who' retin afte h disngsh cee

public service. paicia h served for2 years and s sved fe mebers of cgrs, inclung me she aoerdormer estative la gn andersonthlateve hn, rrentative janice hahn, janearman and then mel ms. bran:atricia ju wa't caseworker, she's racle worer s's hdld virtllevy typeofase tt' rerd to aoneson oice. patricia has resolv sia security and meca claims for seors, helped disaed veterans whoeren't receiving thr vetan dabity checkanasstthe who d trole wi t imgration and naturazaon seice a t r.s. paic seean advocat r the usad a aource cfo f those tgl up in the federal govement' burecry. i whatcia thbestner wellesveretirentrom

public serice. thank y. yield back. the spker pro tempore: r what purpo des thgtlman omillins seek recnition >>iasunimous onnt to adress t house forne minute and to revi and extend my remark e ear pro mpore: without oection, the geleans cognized for one nute. mrhugr: thank you, m speaker. re urg atnal police wekto honor t m a women overyornputn ei d a lfsy otect and serve o counie my heroicallgobove and bend the dyy itwaa prilege of mie t sint t kda sri deputy at last year's statof the unn address. n n yr's nighte jpe into freengon to help a otist. t arlyo r officer receivrecognition and thks for thirayo-ay work seing peop. policofces, theern tha hpsouhen you're straed on theide ofhe rd. aole fir ou the neigorhood with yo ks looking foa stog th are elloipoce dearenofomrow a tang parof cs on the

rooftop whunn' dght to help rsemoney t iinois special olyic to poce officers eryer thank yo i yldack. e speaker o mpore:or at purpose does thgeleman rom neyo sk rogtn? >> m saker, ask unanius consent tdesthhouse foonmite. th saker pro tempore: wiout objection t gentleman is coiz for one nu. >> m eaker, re commemotethe dedicti o the washingto sraling along roe5-ofongslnd north she f man congssn zeldin district. th gupf mecan heroes is oenverlooedecause knledge tha or washngn' culpa srang wa ndisclosed until 1930. mruzii only rre that i ve but on life to lo for my untry isclaimed b huinono beapured there on of eop spies was rort tosed of oyste bay, also

knowascua j he relay ielgee concerning trp movement sulis and britishlots ungodedeages, invisle in. d a siglysm visible inand a signal stem. eir efrtturned the tid ofhe washingn by sisting wasngn to ofox the brith. enavg mro ctue. asaingtonaiand is reouedo mbers o today's i.., qot tre is nhing more necessaryhago intellincto frusatth siing enemy and notng reir gater pnso obtain. i'd le tnk t rt shore pfessiol alliancend rderitage aociatn r prominthe lga othe su patrits thk you. the speerroempore for whapuosdo the gentlan from california seek recogniti? >> i a unius consent to drsshehouse for one ne d to revi a extend. epeaker pro temre ithout objection,he gentlan is recoized f o nute.

> thank you, mr. ear. mr lamalfa: in 2010, a decrt jorityassed the dodd-fra a. 2,300-pe wte of ari's finanal laws sweepi law imposed signictosts on the onmyfiancialinstitions investors, smal business and american consumers. dodd-frank was suppedoelp li up our economy. instdhawgot was the slost wakt recovery in0 years. it w suppod to end taayer-funded bailouts. inte it permanently put wall seet blouts intolaw. t s supped to make e finaial system safe stead, big ban got ev gger and we have e ss mmitbank or cdit union every day. suppod prott conmers. insad high bank fees, mo exnsve mortgage fer choices and mtnaccountable overnment en in th history ofhe repubc, the pb. thfincial choice act mving to the committee a tthe floosoon willive consumers the preconthey neeand thepportunity for investment

tt has beeso boted up r many,any months, even years. thfanal choice act will beery helpful towar restarting our economand bringing back once again consumer cic let's move this bi tou. . eaker, i yldack. . thspeaker p tpore: e chr ys before the house the following peon requests. the clerk: lea of absence requested fo m swalwe o californi for may 18 through may 25. the eaker pro tempore thout objection, the request s grante der the ear's aounced pocyf january 2017, the gentmafrom myland, mr. raskin, is regned fr 60 minutes as the dsignee of e inority leader.

mr. raski m speaker, thank ouery much. lighted to beere with m pane, congresswomanayal, from the state o whigton. and warruing the ogessive caucus spial ord ur and we are dighted to kick off ts sson, which is abuthexaordiny revelations this wee, and sme breath takingdeloents in washngton with atatement by r distinguished colleae from xas, sheila jks lee. so i woulyild now for a much time asheig csume to cgrswanhea jacson lee. ms. jacks lee: thankth distingshed gentleman fm maryland ndheistingsh ntlelady from washingto just by coincidence, mr. speaker, all threofusre members ofheudiciary committeend hader

vigorous cstutnal discussion isorngn a hearing on the responsibits of the judiciary committee and wl he respsibilities of this cgrs to tamerican oe. think many ofsffedur mmtsn e context ate dino speak as aemrat or republa tugh weare hee oths oor as mbs of e cngressnal progresse cauc. we really spo t our views d commitment as a arians having sved ith houseor a period o te whe ie en the judiciy cmitte engage vigorously in imachme proceedings fo judgesanredts, know that thro oth judia committee ito be assured that th governme, the executive the listu, t diary, rwithinhe ctext of t nstitution

d tt t spirit and eosioofhich ii his evin, share a few hghndtoecnt for our rs w ts is wk that requires furtr oversig and insht d rther asessment f ether thectnsf e va offic t ecutive and ts insncthwhe hoe have reallcoli wh th conitution of the united ates. but i woul firstf l iice at mhfhat i wi y iwill qualify anday that the psenora president ay esident wod have th ahority too. ahoh,for example, t b..ict isivn 10eate, te didu

sees athe will oth prident of the ut sats of amec th mnshat president tmp esenobama, prsintus pesen clintonndthers wld ha he autri to fire ts paticulainvials they wouldavthe rit to fe cabinet offerndotrs have t rhto rehe attorney genel. the depu torney neral. ic may be one of te ncerns we now he se proceed totrtoeto e factsf st wleitany of ss. lem cot r you, as ssshe fi odirector comey, atn e stouple ofa we haveiscerd tt thtmpamig oerives spe rsipetes rusanovnmt oicls 18 teinheasseven nt of the cmpgn we arwewa tt t form s. decr, sothg thkes mbs

ofoness- i wl eafo mylf he neverea oin the tenurth ie en ivled to serve inhe uted stes cone, atn individuawasdvinth preside o t utestes, noinhe formf a bbst ut in the rmfn advisr, onaonal sury su, wabeing aiy fei uny. and so t aicth was ven to gentw fferent romndions. o agut ad tro tuiskwig tu a citizen whwaer w s bee voedn nuerf hos and oohatae wor w livein nnsylvania. on of hi recmeatnsas to towhiinvia who sat, nndumt, ouinto the hndof t presidenf ry. who aseeknn erhe years, rently, t dy potilnd riou rhts

and hanights. tt s e recmeatn. eecd ecmeaon etr you likeitr sledt,as toot arm th kus hp wh eig i sya. that advice w gen,otof thseroposas adviwas ginhie nel yn was on theayllf foig government yu would ve to nr, in isseries ofncidents,ow wehave come to the pointhere e f.i. director, o was inively eng iesgang -- t f.b.i inveigingeraflynn, as rcongreional commte. genally inounr bpnay, i bie, the nate ielgence commte alof tha l os elemtsertaiy spdth e cones a the f.i. were enged in active invtigations. i thi the ameran people

understand that. the american people understand that ifheir chief of police was engaged in an active investigation of murder, one that the whole community was just outraged about, as any murder, as all the homicides that take place in a community that you desire to be safe, and one local elected official indicated that you are investigating my neighbor or you're investigating me and had the authority to fire the chief of police with the reason of one thing, and then it became very clear that you are firing the chief of police who is actively engaged in a murder investigation that was going to help the whole community find the truth and bring the perpetrator to justice. you fired that policchf because it was eith aer you thatas being vestigated -- eith aer you that ere being investigated, local -- eier you that was beg investigated, local elected official, -- official, or it

s your neighbor that was being iestigated. that is simple explanation what have happened here in washington. becse washington is big, because this govnment is huge, because it is the leader of the free world, because all e natns look up to it, gives t noreater authority to stop an activenvtigation that is based upon the duties of the f.b.i., but also the ws of this land. and thatis just what happened. director coy s unser uncer y fired -- imoniously fires. and of course the so-called elanation, which by the way has juteen repeated in the last 45 mitesn internatialtelevion, saying the same ing, that his firing was bas uponeputy attoey geral rosen seen it'sepsentatn in a memorandum, that many of us questioned, that gave a whole

explnationf the incidents regarding formerecretary clinton, ich of course she was not found to have warrant instead further review or investigation prosecution. but that wa what was used by e president tru jt in t last, as isaid, 30 to 45 minutes when we know that thdety attorney generaha already nied that he was the cause and cter of the firingof rector -- of f.b.i. direcr comey. but yet it is still being repeat over and over and over agn. you would also know that not only did he deny, a wlook forward to hearing him morow, the use members, as the senate has alady heard him, whahe also indicatd or what was also sd to vindicate him is that the president came out on last thursday with

intvis wi lester holtn nbc news that it wasn'tnydy buhim. and it was connected to this fae russn thing. i'm paphrasg. ma n have all of the words. and so you have an executive th one could analyze in a number crt decisions, may have been creded with an abuse of power. the was no legitimate failing inhwork of dirctor comey onhi russiannvestigation just 45, 30 to 45 minutesgo another coen that was made is that he wasnpopul and that heid very, very prl in the hearings lasteek. nef those are elements of dismsal. maybreimand, maybe study a litle bit more before you go senator al harings or -- senator hearings or house hearings but th has nhing to do wi being fired. nd i don't know whether any of usanevery single day as we

make very touh cision in this house, that we'r assessed whether we're very popular. at we wnt to do is do what is rightor the american ople. an whatever you might s, assumeirctor comey felt that he was doing what is rightor the american op. manyisagreed with his handling and assessment of the issues dealing with former secretary clinton,articularly in thectober surise. that is legitimate. to say s t gitima , way pasth incidt, and when this individuals activelengaged -- andhere iso question or no guarantee that in spite ofur displease doctsh presidency of the d gonen the other way, that director comey would be fired much there was suggestion of that. nonehaoever --id. there was no suggestion of that. noe whaoever. even digreein with action

buhere we have not only the misreprestaion of the reason but the dclatn at the reon was because of this ssian thing. l mehare with you e comments oprofessor tribe in a "thwashington post" ticle, may 13, 2017. he recounts the whole ise of thi action, beanupon the actions that are in th cotitution that have -- relateo, sh as impeachme, that relate tthe questionsof whether or no wmove whether or not the presidcy or the president has acte appropriately. the queson of russian interference in the esidential election and possible colsion witthe trumpcampaign go to the hrt of our systemnd ily conduct free d ir elections. therefore it was free. it was at w do. consider too how trump embroiled deputyttney rosenstein and tney

general session pny justifications for the firng on which trump had alread decided, consider how tmp edhe vice presidenan white house staff to ppate aetf blatant untrut before giving an intervw to nbc's lester holt that exposed hitrue motivation. umaccompanied that confssn witelf-serving and man fesslyal aeions about havinbeen assured by mey that trump himself wa not under investigate. by -- invtigation. by trump's own account he aske comey about his inveigativ atus, even while he was conduct the equivalenof a job terview in which comey sought to retain his position as a dicr. i believehawhat we have here is a reasonable bsi of the f who have ce t e ootoghtoai ese qutis a bab

ha wdo have st of laws a tate do hee t rule of l. we kowha t dut atrney generasppnt a special counselunderhe rosions of the attorn neral. crsthat individual could e re he rulatiocould dismantled. but we ho tt fme director mueller t f.b.i., wh hasmccable crentls, will gfoaran enreha thamerican people kw t truth. hawill be one patf . . th will be one part of i ui an to as i lo amy closing remarks here, i nto that this o me someinhais

up. thattonnues t shockus and ithocks e american pele it is not a mae up entity. t srts fm e firi a en gngp. a cme b bill moyer yst ieo pin the blamon aew detattorney generalwh hastedy drew up aemo criticizing isstemts thla summer of a 2015, a mber ofrump's cpaign stf clelieutenant mike flynn if he's llg to mt with trump. yn agrees. four oer presidenti candidates soeaeduto him. a long ltf itemhat may be true, may n true but y s pte, a ttern of thechl' el

of thisva office. a so i wou y my cleagues that we should no turn blind eye onhi i believits iorant to folow the facts. i veourel with that but neh am aai tuse the rm apprriel in impeachment inquiry buat lst to ndhacts of etr or t yf the acio at swlearound dirto ceythwied arnd genal flynnnd drector comey's or e f.b.i.'s iesigation o th partur sees of cidens arin keeping th sponsibilities of the ongress,heudiciaryndny elen there or the ol ofcetridency of the nid states of america. i thi t specialroecor

fothamics to understand, to pursueosble crimal acts. on the other hand it is we-kowha t congss ca addssow we fix this, how we make sure doesn't happen aga, w we work on belf of e amerin people. and so i hpe as wecolu this special der that no on lloint to any of the embers on is floor as ting th u as persal cause against t esenofhe unedtasr any presiden and that we ll respect the offie we have always de ut i is our dty to sh light onhese issu and shed light onhe pential iluresnd is ou snsility to te t cause of curing,esponding, fixing and svg the amecan eople. with tt ank the ntla fm shington a e gentleman from maran i yield to the ntman. mrraski thank yove much, cgresswanfothe

extremelyhohtl and lud remarks. i alsoistossiate mylf wi e idea thater on this issue e cann a purely partans. i suppose i naka ptan speech wi t best oth, t we are called upon ri these verytrying ds to spe, not aspaisans, but a patriots and as constitional triots. ha bn arofession o constitionalawor 27 yea at whigt cle of la and i a aarth t unrs of this country we etmined to see that wlee t a ptan in e normal shnd pl of giate lics, when it comes tohe bac charteof our doccy all of us tried toeetoct in a way that nstent withhe constitutiona vueth unify us. thom jferson said, if i cld only go to heaven with a political rty i wld prefe not to go. and george washito said tha we should neverorget that the word party m fr the

ehorarti, ea part par of the whole. e have to ep ourin focus n the ole thing. well, the wholcountry isn danger rightow. the eves the lt week ha been breathtangnd extraoiny. soet's te oment to try catch our ba, tryto rememrhat's ally at ske with the ssn cneio with th fin onaonal sery advisor miae flynn t 24ays. withheirg f.i. directorjas me this wee te heefused dp the instatnntmha flynand thruia onnection. all of this isboutn the big pture an gaze a ystemi assault t eranor of governmt d ouremratic polica nstuondun e01 presidentl electio of our u.s. telligce

agcies, incding the.b.i., the c.a. t nional seri agcyheefs ntlligen an a me than dozen of otrs got geean producea po where thesaid was vy gh dereofertainty tt vladimirutn d russi agts had an organized mpig ohestrated to engage inyr pionage of the nid ates ofmerica and oupolitil itiutns and cyber sabotage of r political intitutions with paid on ara tiffsorkin toismilar te -- opetiesorking to dieminate fakeew and ropagaa engineerea mixtur ore emailsmixed wh keewand s on. all of it mnto throw the psidential election, t destroy t chances of hlary cltoand toeabize ameran politalemracy

and we know that this s used bor the 2016 election in ameca andt wassed again ft a recentlys the ectonn thetrndwho s the favorite of vladimir pinndthen france withe penn e nationalront where mr put and his opatives did data dump the weekend berthe french presidential elction right before the blackout o campaning. eyagn, orchestrated has of the cr cpan d tred to putut, again, a complete disinformati package on beha ofa pen. well, the ielgee encies wned us that ts s just a drs rehearsal for 220. this is what vlimir putin is dog. e's trying to oranize ery

dess pet, to try to destroy the emracies, from the oside in to the inde no, he's no match to the united states of america. economal he's no match to e nid statesfmeca institioll the democracy weuilt, our institution, he's no match for ameca but he perceives a weakness and thweakness is a about the inrn becau t iert links the ole wod tether. and ife can usthe internet in order to hack into our institio, both r party institutions and o election sts and theed a polical campaig and tn e that to sew confusi and propagd ene mayndeed beblto gain control over the rection of our country th sovereigneoplef merica. and weere warned in that inllen ancrert, whh ipublicwhh erybody can find onle,ha this is their plan, that it

wasn't if 2016 was a one-shot dealhis is exactly what pin will continue to do. sth's the background. y theirg f.i director jame comeyo disturbing? e of coursead a 10-year ter ich wabruptlynd suddenly cut o by prede trump. after comey told him, according to comey's account, alet, that he would refuse to drop the investigation io chael flynn. trere lots of people involved in this russian coecioto, including paige anste and manafort that goes way beyoh we n talk here tonht but i justant to talk for a moment yn. why is thiseqncof events disturbin well, it ce out this we alsohat the trump tnsition

ameaded by none oth than vice presenmi pcenew atfln was under cminal vestiti at the time at theyeced to hire him as americs tional secity adis. at a point when they decided to mae himamica's number one natialecurityoperative, th knew was uer cmil investigiofo being a paid erative of the turkish governmen a paid aent of the turkish gernment. and nonetheless, they brought him on. d then, when it was learned from the aing attorney general sallyyas that m. flynn was vulnerable to blacail by rssians for having misled vice esent ntanglement itth russian bassad a convertin with the rsian ambassador, ty pt h on. they knew even thouh hwas under investigion. and he ld about his conntis to the russiansnd

still kept himn. when t di finally broke t story abouly'sould he louise tis with ren -- collusi actions withfoignornnt trump finally fed him gdggl, let him go, but said that fly wathe victim somehow. evenrdo disassociate mself with the firing of flynn. and then lrn that the presidentried to get the b.. rtor jas mey to drop the invesgation. that's accorng to the f.b.i. director james comey w h ver beencsed or lyi o perjury so tha will be hi wo ainst t pesidenof thuned states who said in le,well, ted cruz's faeparticipated in the assassinatioof j.f.k., and five miloneoe voted legally in thuned stas with evidence at all. and barack obama was born in

kenya or indonesia ad had his phones tapped and so on. thatssue might come dowto a swearing contt between the former director of the f.b.i., mr. comey, and psient trump. bu in any event, aording to come, ump saido m, wl yol it go, wl you leth investigatn flynn goan comey said he would not and then comey was let go instead. e estion is, whatdoes michael flynkn tt erybody bends over backwards t trump administration to try please him and placate him? th administration doesnt mind insulngur lonstnd most cherished allies in th world -- nato -- which he's said i sote mexico, which he's had n prle insulting d afoing. stralianso on. yet, with miae fyn everybody's tip toeing. everybody is doing a tap dance. what does michael flynn know abt preside trump? as some seem as he

nformation about the president that the president doesn't want to get outthere. th' w a special counsel had to be aointed and i'm gld a special counsel w appointed and i believe that mr. eller is up to theas and he's been known as a straight shoer and someone at will flow thefas wherer theyo. in the meanmwe havto look at the much broer isse cae at about the criminal deedor actions of rticul pple and some op may end up facing osution fr at the d but the's a much larger issue here because as a country, we've got to and up for stro democracy all over the worl but what's hapening with with all of these shenanigans and sinister contacts and nntions with the turkish government and tussian gornntnd hunry and the

killer dictator duerte in the phipines that oers people who thinks are dgses should be shot on site th's einvited by the white house president tru? well, our country has got to sta up for what's great about our cntry, ourcotitution and our bill of rigts. president trp ys this is a witch-hunt, b ianto close by tll you about a real witch-hunt thas going on rightow on the planet eart and iwe were not s distracted by the spreading staph infeco within the hi house we woulbeble to he in terms of ts situation. d i refer you to an aticle at wain the newspaper a couple of da o i"the new yo times" about the governor of jakarta, onef e largt ciein indonesia, and he's chistian a he'she governor of jar a someone w running ain him and said that all the muslims should vote against hibeus he's chsan and they should ha

to vote for a mli bau the kor tells th to. dhe governor objected. hesa that's not right the oran doesn't say that muslims mstote for muslis. muslims can vote for me even though i a christian and he sprosecuted, arrested f asphemy against thkoran, agains islam, d sentenced to two years at hard time in a maximum security priso in donesia. now inmericawith where w have a first amement, free erse of relign, separationf church and state, got rid of blasphemy a ng time ago. but now we've got a human being, a gernoro less, who is being st off, who is in prison for hard time i indonesia, o of our allies. we should not let that stand. the are hundreds of people lveeah who are in

prison for blasphemy o hersey, religious offenses and we're sayg nothg ou it. russia itself therwe just mches a month ago against politcaorruptn anauthoritarianism. tens of thousas people and our governnt did nothing why? some tm are onhe payroll of russia aocrats and others st dot care. we should be the side ofhe people of russia who are fiting for demoacy, fiting r religious freedom, fiting for human rghts. that's what ecahold be about. that's what's ally at stake here. our government shoulnobe consumed with self-intert and pmong people's corporate agea. it suld nobe csumed with the personal vity ofhe prsint it should not aut -- be about private agendas, it should be abt the public good of the american peoplend standing withemocraciesll over the earth. with tti'm going to turn it over to my very dtinguhed coeae frowashito state ms. jayapal m oi tsurrender the rest

the time to her and anybody she would appoint to spe. thank yove mh. ms. jayap: hank youo much for youronnued leadership and work on humanigs issues, on constitiol issues. greatleasure for me to serv with you on theudiciary commiee t sak pro tempore: under the speaker's anund poli of january 27, the geleman is recogzedor 60 mines as the desnee -- for the remainder of the time as the designee of the minority leader. ms. jayapal: thank you, mr. speaker. appreciate that. w i'd like toyield to my distinguishd colleague from california rresentative barbarlee. she's been such a champion on progressive issu for so long. barba lee still spes for me acrosthe country. so representati lee. ms. lee: thank you very much. let me thank you, congresswom jayapaor yielding and for

holdinthis iportant discussion on is exi stentionthat to r democracy -- esttial threat to our democrat sme i also ve to say to you -- democracy. i also have to say to u,ou have hit the ground running he obehalf of the ameran people, on behalff working me and women, on behalf of peace and security in the rld, on behalf of o democracy. sohank you again for your leadership this constant stream of allegations and snls springing from th -- excuse me fr 1600 pennsylvania avenue is really quite shocking. i have to admit thatfter watcing presidentrump fire the f.b.i. direcrhwas vestigating him, i thought things could noget an worse. just da later president tru blundered intoharing classi intelligence with ssian officials. ashnation and the world grappl with the aftermath of ts relation, yet more shocking new w breaking.

"the new york times" has alleged that before he was fid,irectorcomey was pressuredy president trump to shut downan onin investigation into nel chl flynn's possle collusionittheussians. mr. speaker, i want to e very clear th the amic people. ifthnew york time report is true, president trump's attempts to influence the federal probe can onl be described in one way d at's struction of jusce and, yes, obstruction of justice, we allnow,s impeachableoffense. right w e thing,hoh,s crystaller. the president's abuse ofower has plunged th nation into a ll blown constitional crisis this crisi goes ar beyond party ierests. every america docrat or republican, should be conceed by thesellegations. presint trump's actions have threatened national security, the rule of landhe

independen of our nation' justicsytem. hiactions dishonor the office of presidey a placeur nation and itales in danger. the reports of steek underscore the need to establish a bipartan, independent commiio tget to the bottoof ruia interference in ourlections once and for all it's vitally important tt director mller, and i'm very pleased that the department of justiceppnted himthis is one ste t right direction, but i'sery important th h be giveth resrc and theutonomy to conduct an inveigation. unfortunately president trump id thathisinvestigatn is a witch hu. thing could be furth fom the trut theamerican people deserve to know theacts aoupossible llion beeerussiand the trump admistratn t trump campaign.

our mocracy must beefended allost. and so thank you, congresswoma jayapal, f giving us achance to spk night about this very dangerous momenthat we're in. aboupresidential abuse. you know, a really abouthe preservaton oou doccy. the congssionaprogressive caucus continues to lead on s many sues that are important to this coutry and to the world. thank you aga. ms. jayapalthk youo muc representative lee. noit's my great honoro yieldo my distinguished coeague from illois, representative j shaws, who has been also a lad i the progressi ccus ono ma issues, from the at penayommigration to alth care. , representative schakoky . hakowsky: i want t thank ngsswoman jayapal and the congressional progressive caucus for conni this one-hour discussion about our

decracy at risk. i don't think it's really an aggerationhat what we're seeinrit now is our doccy actually under tack. and unfortunately is fm our n white use. i think americans ound the country, regardless of their political party, or eve political persuasion, are kind shaking their ad ad yg, wt the heck igng on? everyay there'somsort of a new and disturng revelation you know, we found out that the president of the united states just seemtoave brted o highly, highly clasfi information in a meeing with theruian ambassador d the rusan foreign mist. inrmation that was passed on, it seems, from the israelis. tctually couldet some of the pple who are doing the

most decateoron the ground, put them se daer. d then,of course, last week the prident firedhe f.i. director, james comey. as a democrat, i certnlha had proems in the pt with jas mey. i think that he lp influence the outcome of the election. but turns out that the prident onnational television basically admitted after giving various explanations of the firi, said that came down to the russiannvtiti. then we find out th james comey actually took notes of a meti with the prede where t president asked him of othe investigation general flynn and his connection to all this russia

-- the russns so it's like -- it is a real question of what's going on. sitas an important step en this week, yesteday, deputy attorney general rod rosenstn took the important rst step ofppointing a stegs -- specialounsel to invtigate the russia connection and the relationship een thisdministration, president trum and the ruians. so, you know, and i'm really pp i was on the intelligence comittee when robert mueller was the f.b.i. director. and have to tell you, ie ver cfident in his independence nd his integrity. i know that he for one, for exmple, wouldot allow the .b.i. to work with the c.i.a when th wanted t toure

people esntlly. usa enhanced interration techiques. anso i fl good that he's a very good choe. but havingone that, today i was happy to sign a discharge petioto create an independent commission tt would als be looking into even the largepicture about what was goi owithth russi influence campaign,nvolving itself in our elections, and then also wt was the connectiobetween the trump administration, donald trump himself, did they collude on fluencing the election? so it'important to dooth. they are complinty. th d't do the same thing. and the value, i'm going to ote nofr adam schiff, who

rranking mocrat on the intelligence commite, and he, tnk, put it really well. the value an independent commission adds is you have a body tt is tly independent of any piticalonsideation, d also has all the resources it needs and a single focus on thoversit of what russia did,ow wneed to rpond in the future, and it brings that policaindependence and staff andesrces on tk. so there are t different needs and i tnk that theyre complimentary. not in competition with each otr. the he reasoi'm very much in suprt, notnly of the select psetor, the scial prosecutor, but of the independent commission, is because then congress has a role here. congress itself is sin hopefullepblican and democrats, we have two republicans right now onur

dischae petition that would force the bill to come to the floor, that would say that we together thk tt this is worthy -- our democracy is rthy of this kind of in depth investation. and finally let me say, we would find out a lotabout the relationship of the president andussialus other coltsf intes if w could s his t rurns. lie er oeprident s do, to release hisax retur. a, wld hopthathi isot dolved to atrictly ptin issue. alamicanseshld s, l us look at whaou-- thos-- what are os ts, the printay have ountrs aunthe wold, wh compani home. anso i yield back and i thank agn congresswoman jayapa fr the opportuit

. jayal:hank you so much, nesswomanchowy agnwee ry paseds progressive caus to host a special order ur evy week and wpick differenttoc ery wee r tho o who you are just ginning to lp. and they thiseewe wand -- listen. d iseek we waed to focus attention on what belie are some of the mos rious and pressing issues facing o uny oday, around thtrp adnistraon tie t russ, around the firing of me cey, a t ma, many iseshat he come forward or e last sel months, buteainly ith lastee since last tsday, we ve borne tnso sugh of alarminevents within the whte house a e depament of justice. last tuesdayftno w reived wordhat the president had fire f.b.i. diecr jamesomeyroh

posion that posion bthe w, ia -year term, coness signated it aa 10-year rm speciclyonsure tt we could pte a admistration and thente cnt against any nfct of ieresthat may come up. obviously atidot cvie thereident hat he sul keep director cey so we heard that he fired him. aniteems as if eachorning we wake up to a barrage of firings,wes,r urus that continue torode t public's cfince inur mocracy. so wh do we know oday? rtainly we don know enough. but we dknwhath psidentir decr cey under the gse of being unsatisfied with h he hale crar hiary cltos email investigation. t ifhat were the case, then y dn he fire h mth ago? why now? y dide oose tme with russianffials t d after

ring mr. comey? mr. tmp'sttpts to use clinton's ails to divert attention from comes investigation tohe mpgn's ties to ssia are, uornaly, very disgeous an i think at they are ovg to b unsuccessf. despiteislmsha mr. comey was not investiti him, the preidentust have beoncerd about what director meou fd because e ring, inrestiny, came jusds fterirector cey had requst ditional rources r thenvtition. whe usoicls attempd to say that the blame r e deputy attne general rod rosstn's fat. esaid it was at his remmdaon anattorney neral jeffessions weighed hadecision well. t in fact shortlafr the edentent otevion nd sa, , thiwas h deciio regaress of whatad

beenrose thi iwhe he s ing to be onedsday,ust oneay after firghen-decr comey, the president welcomed thrussia foreign mister vrv and t russian ambasdor ianvaofc for clod mti. let's not fort at the ambassador met with national security aisor michael yn during the campgn mti that flynn enied about. thinkhi is very, very imporntbecause there we numberf u ainistration otmpaaign oicials tt met withusan officials er the coursef many months before the electi thosmeings ianof themselves ent roble t pblm,owve is that es individuals continuedto lie about tho meetingsnd tt k u wond what fir there where the smoke is.

why would they lie abouthe hings? eceaiy n't kw tha renable to geth anscris of tt nrsio beusthe predent inowiin t reas em russian psint vladimir putin is morwiin tmake that inrmion public than our own presiden b iind itutagushat psint putin woul actuay ropose to e sortf the backup of thi fmaon for the pesident. we're not looking to president putin tpride craub ration of these -- corbotion of the meetings. e nd an independent ily to lookt e cts of this case. nonday,heew expded with rert that the pridt leasehily classifd information to lavrov and kislyak din tir discussion at ehi house it's extremely alarming. its true that the president as the righto classy any informati b a information

that was sharedas s nsitive tt e ited states d not eveshed it with r allies. and tridt's decision to divulge that ioation forgn offia, rtully ruian ofcialsith whom our laonipisonntious at best idangers d rkss anthere's no dou in my mind that this willinder our ability bui niol -- ternation coalitio, actully be ab to share inrmati wh allies who rodehaclassified infortion to us with the underanngthat are going to protect that and guard that. anshouldny classified information then be declasfid for some reason, it's done in constaon with the country th provided that infoatnnd with national cutadvisors. noneofha hapen in this situati. president tmp al twete during e campaign that hillarylinton and her tea were tre careless in thraning of very

sensitive, hhly classied foation, so this seems lke a rtular iry. the preside cimed tt hillary clinton' lk ability to handclassied informioacally made h fito be president, and speaker pl rn said this. th was a quo. he sai is simpl individuals who are extrely caless with assified informaonshould beenied furth accesto ind quote. rece priebu tmp chief ofstf, took it one ste further sin quote, those who mhandleclassified infmationadhr cuty clarces revoked, lo jobs, ha fines and evebe sent to pris. so this is siation that we have to take tme seriously. berwe could evenully engend vet that news howev, reports tename out that presentrp had actual asked f.b. decr james comey torophe

investiti into michael y. and according to sourc cse to comey, this reqst cam jt one day after micha ynn was re ths a truly a new low. this is true, if thiis true, and we're yi to g to t bottom of this, it would absouty conite an obstruioof juice. therede has put obstae after obstacle in the way of anre iestigaon tha giveusheinformation that we need to prott our natial serity and the american people. te 118ays since the trump presidcybegan, itas been scandal after scandal. the latest events have eslad ts crisis to an even hhelevel. i meniod,hef.i. director serves a 10-year term specically in order to be abe toarry out these independent investigio e of partisanshior lical

pressure. t fing ofames meand the fa he was asked by th preside for lalty- ain, this is apparentl idictor comey's memwch we ope to beable to see -- and to an abandoen of the vestiti against micha flynn, these are ereel serious fees and ty rt ou demcry. they hurt our coury th president hatried to disacusimend time again, but we actually know that te eran peoe esve better. stymis kilyon those whstandp d t country over rt, toswho esu that in the darke of tims, the most difficu of times, the times wn we fe a constitional csi where our nation woners what direction we're gngn,he ties whe we know th t needoreserve the stitutions odecracy a justice armo nesry, ose are the times when w need people to spk out on

th sid of the aisleorhe facts, or t tthnd for decracy. is should not ba parisan issue. we are sinthat srng to erge frooucoeaes across the ais, d coend thos republicans whoav ben ask for informati andocmes and hearings a i hope that morofy coeagues will join us in the puuiof trh and ith purst ojuic las night we receivene that robt mueller, who is the formr b.i. director, has been appointed as special counselor thenvestigatn tohe tru camaign's ties th russia. d this is an extremely dtinguished man. hes srvthcotry with tremendousuccesan loyty and we arhopefu that mr. mueller will diligently investigate the allegations ainst michael flyn and other membersf theru campan th vaty and fre fro

pitical influence. howev, we still mintain tha an iependent commision is necessary because apecial counselnswers to the attorney gener who can thenverrule cion that ey make or even fire them a te. te appotmt directo mueller -- robert mueller is a gd rst but itannot be the last. directorueer lltill be in the chain ocoand unr thrump-appointed leadership ofhe justice deptnt. he cannot take the placef a truly indeent oside commissi that'free fro trump's meddling. and i think thats y it is so important that we all join inigning theischar petion tt was introduced yesterday by my colleaes reesntive swalwelland representatve cmings who is theanngember on oversight

committee. this dischaepeti wld ssentily alw for a billo veorward tt would estlish an independent mmissionhawe couldruly trust to seek justice. the commission would intervi wiess, would oain domes, woud issue subpoenaand would reive public testimony in ord t examine whetherr othe russian gornnt did in fact inerfereitu. ections and how ey carrie that out. and this is a reallcrucial ep to take,ecause it's not only about the short te a the immediacy of what i front of u extremel exemely important- the commiion wod deal with tha t' how wl it not happen agn? how do we contueo protect our democracy ith face of what 17 independent inlligence agencies sd, which is at the russian hacked our eltion in the united states. there is a lot we nd understd. nd thepecial counsel, t we aso need this

independent cizomssion, no made up of members o cogress but appointed by the usan the senate leaders of botharties, equal nbers, so hat we could aually have people who loo at this fro e perspective of l of amica and not taintedy even the vestiges or the appearanc of party. parently when presidentrump heard that special counsehad been named,e ughedut loud sayi ts is, quo, te greatest wch-hun of a politicn in amerin history. no, mr. president, we are seinth truth. ashe american people have shown us, th are not bacin down, a we will contin to fight for this truth. now, in thatai, i also antedo ntion thaty colleague, rrentive raskin, and i actuall troduced package of bills that we'realling the trp transpen pka, d it'

because wrellbeeve that th american pplderv tter. we bie tt the americ people derve fm s transparenc and so wha this cke will do is, first, it will clearly forbid government officials from accting anything of vue fr foren governments in exchange r officl act. itould probigornment emploesro using their sitio to further the financialnres the preside. it woulensurehat the preside's press pool coinues to exist so that the amic ppl receive honest answers. and it wouleqre the psintnd hifamily t publicly po any feign buses deals that exceed $1000. these a sple steps ey are notgregis. they are not orageous. they ul apply to anon th e not partisan. they are autransparency and accountabilyo that we know tt the president of the unted states, tt others in govnmtrectually

accountablto the american people, not to eir financl interests, not to thirank acunts, not to their stock portlis, not to theirots andol crses but to the amecan peopl have to hold every adminirationnd certainly this one accountable, and so now moreha ever it iour moral duty to defend the onstition, and this bill package es a epn the rit direction. so i hope th a o m colleagues on botsis t aislwod actually co-sponsor therump transparency paage with usohat we can continue tofight f the amerin people, f demoacan for the notion th amera is wiingo estiontself, for t notn at americas wling to always put our hands on th moral arc of the univee push it me quickly towards justice. ndwi tt m sak, i yield back. thank you. thepeaker pro teore: t

gentlewoman yields bac meers a reminded to frain from engaging in psonalities tarthe president. and areuher reminded to address their remarks to the chair. under the speer announce policyf january 301 the chair regneshe gentlewoman from lifornia, ms l, or 30 minutes. ms. le thank y,adam speaker. fit,i ask hat all members have five lislate days to revise and eend their remar. the speer pro tempore: tht objection. m lee: thank you. madam eaker, i rise today ong wi my colleagues to talk abtesri congress' constitutnal oversight matters of war and ea. i invite all of colleagues to join me in demanding that ths us imdiel repeal the 2001 ahorization for the use of military force. nearly 16ea ago, congress passed an onnded blankch for endless r -- check for dless war. th authorizati ges any redent the auority to wage limitlessar at anyime,

anywhere for ny reas in pertuity. the voteo relinquish our constitial authority happened three days after the attacks on 9/11. the ameraneople were anxiouso te tion. madam speake was sts outraged and devtated as evy eranbut i voted ainst this 21 af because i believth as bieve it now that iwaa blancheck and set the stage for perpual war. 60 passed t 60-wd -- words drastilly altere history. in the most 16ears since its passage, e 2001 amf, which was designed, mind you tounish the perpettors of the brul deadly attacks on stember 11, has be ud now bthree predtso wage dless war aroundhe globe. a rece report from the

congrsional research service shows thath ahozation has ben used more than times in 14 cnteso justify military action. es include opations at guantanamo b, rrtls wiretapping and rece mity tions in libya, syria, maa,en and many me, anths repo only looks at unclassified milita actions. d like to now reserve the balance of my time and a congresswon nn watson colem from newery to me forwar she has been such a ad on my issues, especially aroundsss of o constitutioalesponsibility, issues of war d peace i nt toha you smuch for being with us tonight, congsswoman watson coleman. s.watson coleman: thank you, and ianto thank the congsswom for having this moment to address th issue and continuing to be sucha leader on behalf of this great democra tt we have. though i w t in congrs

when this aumf was establish, re th 15 yearsater i i cle thisuthoration was not designed for this endless and peetual war on terror. icommenmy colleaguend friend,corewon lee, for yournwaveringtance on whas right. say what you feared is now o realy. justoday, u.s. forces particiated in an air strike against e sa regim uer t urella of e same aumf. th is just the lates example of this virtual endless war we arae to wage in the middle eastand beyond. as of juary, 23, d.o.d. ported 7,008 u.s. mility ats in the war on terror, in additioto the over0,0 that haveeen wounded. thisoes in t include the hugeumbers of civilians, families,and childr that have been impacd this.s. military machin

this is compounded by the marsh realityhat according to pentagon stattics,uicide, not combat is the leang killer of u.s. troops deployed in the mile east to fight islamic stat mitants. bewe 2001 an 2010,he rate of suicides in the milary ha ubled. wh we dede to mmit our troops to our msion, it needs to be wit clearoals and the explicit approval congrs. apursuant to the rule that aligns with the goals the administration and the commander in chie and puts people at risk, ainginces and our miity. we are takinguritary ay from readess everywher were making tactical and deberate actions les feabl by spreing our mitary cacity thin. we're not doing our job if we alw carte blanc to any president to wage a nebulous r. this isn't just a bipartisan

sue, this is an arican issue i have voted agastunng bills that maintain operations under the 2001 af under the previous admintrion andeel no differtltoday. que fnk, based on the actionsof this president i have even less confidence that he has a reasonable and targeed pla to dl th such a complex military issue. we need a delirate process. we need a newumf thattest tab hishes strict parameters, obtainable goal and most impoantly countability. there is a real cost here, a human cost here. so whether it is an additional one or 1,000, ourroops demand more, ourllies demand more, and this country of ours sees more. i yie bk. >> i than t gentlelady from new jersey forha powerful statement and for rinng us that this is not-r ould not be a rtisanssue.

with that, i would likeo yiel now to my colleague, my friend, mr. yohfr flori whha been very diligent inis effrt repeal th 2001 sotion, authorization to u military force. . yoho: thank y, . lee, i'veeen called woe,hat's ok. i nt tohak u for organizing thiserimportant special order. this is somethinth you'v be ahampioon and leading ever since i've been in coress. thiis my third term'mn, anwe havee talking about ts for four ars. enouh is enough. it's time to end this. rise inupport of congre reclaiming its authority under ticle 1, section 8 claus7, or 11, of the constitutio thenited states st have a cleartrate with wll defined goals to unter nonstate actors like isis tha teatenhe uted stes. th threaten our nation security interests and mu also

deveop clr legal autority for mility take action against thesgrup ending the 2001 aumf is a crial part of that effort. accorngo sclars at brown university, watsonnstitu of international public affairs, ou government, outaayers have spent $4.8 trillion on th warsn afghanistan and iraq, paid for most entirely b by borrowg. st impoantly,s of today, 6,925 americanoldiers have givenheir lives servi our country in operion iqi freedom, operationew dawn, opetinding freedom, operationnhe resolve, operation freedom's sentinel, according to the department of defense. but what abo the costo take care these yngennd won for the next 60, 7 and

ea in our untry? yet wleurrave men and women in ufo ctinue to fig ithe sands iq and syria and the mountains of afghanistan, we have gone through thr presidential administtions witut a atement articulatg at ictory is. except that terrosm must be defeated. no one disgrs withha goal ut it's an unceain way to rd our nation's military postu a cmit our young men an wen in the mitary, serving th nion without a clear, defined gl e haveeen at war in afhanist for 16 year, yet te taliban ctrols or contests 40 of afghan cease diricts, according to the special sptor general of afghan cotrtion. the.sintelligenceommunity worlide threat assessment stes that the overall tuion in afghanistan wl ryiky don't deteorate enf intnaonal support is sustained. and tha endemic state weakens

rality, rnment's afgh nial security forces, taliban peisnce andegiona interference wl main key impediments to impovement. addition, afghanistan the united states has beeinvolved inraq onndff sc 23. dr. james zby of the arab american institute conducted a oll in 2016 which found that 94% ofras had an unfavab attitude out theuned states. 94% of iraqis pled said ey don't think the u.s.ontributed to peace andtality i the arab world. we need much ear strategy for our men and women in uniform than to tell them justto kee doing e same thing over and over agnful wallnow what the dinition ofnsanity is and we need t bettefor the and our parerarnd the rld. our naonas arrived at a

historiconstitutiol moment. prior toredent tmps inauguration, prede oma released a frame work olining s administratn' formal gal view on the use of military rcegainst iamst terror gup aroundhelobe. at report relied heavily on the 2001 af which has been usedo jusfy numers american military operations agnst an ever-expandin nuer of terror grouprkf ic have only slight lin to the rpetrateoerth september 11, 2001, attks. in reality, r loose interpretation of the 2001umf lowinghe use -- e u.s. to have a perpetual r against terrorism might as wem be using e authorization thomas jeffers used to go after barry pirates on the shore of tripoli. i hope that presidentrump's admintration willonnue to

--will n contie to rely on that same lal frameworbu rather that we -- that he will rmally ask congress to pass a new ahorizationita clear directive owhat succe i for the use of force that will not pepetually operate constitutional graareas. stkes against groups like al shabab d sala take place in constitutiol twilight zos whe the constiti's distrution of authori tuse force is uncertain as justice jackson wrote in yngstown vs. sawyer. to better preserveur constitution's separation of powe structure, congrs st ma i a priority to develop carlegal thority for american milary action against islamist terror organizations. furer, suchuthorizations shoulbetctured so it won't turn into an expanding grant of powers le e 2001 aumf has done. we fl to pass a new aumf, iwould do our servicemen and women as well as the ameran public a funmental disseic

would prolonauorization of an endless w. 'sime to end the middle et conflictand bring a end. let's ed the 01 aumf. right now i fear many of our litar operations do not ha congressionaauorizationnd do not cplwith car statements of articl 1,ection 8 of the consttuothat gives congress the power to declare war. to show o service mennd womenhaweupport them, to uphold the constituti, and for th good of our natioi pe we can workn theassage of a n aumf witheliberate speed. itthat, i thank the la and gain, your commitment tohi cause is great and i yielback. thank y. ms. lee: thank you. i nt to thank yo cgressman yo, for your clear and cncise statement, laying out w explicit the constitution is as it relates to matters of war and peacand th we mt debate th ife're going to coinue

to use force. so thank you agn and it's been a pleasure working with you. we look forwd to a biptisan fort is year o finly get us where weeed toe and that's to repeal this authorization. tha you. d ke to yie now to colleagu a friend from new york, congressman eliot engel, e ranking member of the foreign affairs committe who i served withen on the commtee for many years who really has a very clearnderstding of foreign a mility policy and has really been such a leader on so many issues,ho weely o on so many frots thank you, congressn engel, r being here. > thank you very much, congresswomn e. we' a grateful to you or being so eaand so principled. - mr. engel: as ie oftenaid, congress must fulfl s constitutional obligation to consider an updated aumf. as m colleags said befe that stands for e thorization forthe use of

military force. right now, the admniration is still using the resolution we sd terseember 11, 21, inhe lal justification to fight isis. at's deeplyroblemati the 2001umf has none of the ims many of us are sking. we're congress, we're n a -- we're not a rubber stampo any president. we have a right to vote on sues such as war and peace. u.s. leership to defeaisis is critical t is doesn't require a lge sce deployment of u.s. forces. throu american leadershiw were able to prevent the wholese aughteof the yazidi peopl the iraqi partners were ableo maintain control of the mosul m which, if breached by isis, uld have resulted in death and displacemenf up to two million peoe d endangered american personnel iraq. with our support,oc forces veaken back aout 80% of the

terrir fm isis andraqn syria. another large scale, open ended coitment of american troops is certainly not the answer. e disastrous interventin iraq st decadsethe stage for the risosiin the fit place. the 2001 aumf has no limits at all on u.s. groundroops. as tropevels continue to ris in the fight against is, we just cannot put r heads in the sa. we need to sit together as a delirativebody and make these important decions. no give any president or any adniration a blank check. so i'mworking on legislatio to limit the authri congress provided after september 11. we need to tailor this authority to the threat we faceoday. epmber 11 happened 16 years ago. we need new parameterto define our mission and our goal. i voted for that aum-16 yes ago. backh, i never wou have imagined tha6 years later we

would still be there and give a blank ecany president who would u it for any time, any place, an tdo anything. so we must fulfill our constitution responsibility and consider wt an appropriate authorization suld include. ing a 2001 authoriziofor 2017 cflt sets aterrible constitutional predent. congress has a val constitutional responbity over america's wapors. iss one of e most impoant decisnse are charged th ming. we il to li uto at responsibility,e ean e balance of powers tht is the bedrock of ouremocracy. consiring tted aumf is ot easy but it is our j. we should do our job. esident obama came to congress wl over a year ago with a proposeaumf. not ny pele cedor it, but it was a proposed aumf, we could have changed it, it was a starting point.

buteid't do it. ith ethrew iaw bcause i got tooar that cann happ again. ngress has a responsibilitto do its part here and fortunately we're not meeting th rponsibility. we owe it e american ople and wewet to our mennd women in uniform do our job. coressional inaction on an aumf is inexcable. want to say thatits sepat issue from t recent strikesgainst assad. coress has me no utriatn whatsoever to sustain military action agains assad. the 60-day clock started ticking when the president notifid congress of h ssile strike. the admistration must come to congress on tt issue as well, thre cannot b lg-rm mita aio against assad without congressional say-. asds a baduy and should be deposed and a future syria should not include assad who

murder thousands of his peop. whether t uned states mus involve every war with an oudated use of force risme as tk someing that shou n hapn d will lead us down a path in t future where we n'ge out of it. i want tohank the gentlewoman fr califnia. she has always stood up for her beliefs, whether teyeem popular ornpopul wen it happensndhat's the kindf people we want to serve in congss, someone who speaks out and aonsistent fighter. and i'm proud tjo wth her. and i hpe colagues on both sides of the aisle will understand this is an important constitutional pncle. as americans and legisators, we suld be concerned about givingny predent a blank check to to war

ms. lee: i thank the gentleman for laying out the facts that congress is msig action and this aumf must be repealed so we can move forward and make determinationss o what congress' role should and what should happ i terms of r rategy. thanyofor bng hertonight an tnk you for your leadership and expertise. would like to yid to my colleague from north carolina, coreman walter jone w has bn frend and supporter who constantl is talking abo w wneed to protect our troo, pport r tops and keep them out of harm's way ia great american a i ha h t pleasure of working with him on so many issues. mr. jones: i thank the gentlelady from california for her leadership and also this time. and i couldn't agree more.

it is a littleit -- if you beeve in the constitution, which the majority of us do because we raise our hands when we are swo in, tn we need to do our constitutiol responsibility. anwh has been said tonight by my colleagues and will be ended by ms. lee in a few minutess the fact that we do nodo our constitutionadu or responsibility. the 21,hi was an au going after bin ladeafter 9/11 made sense. the aumf in002 should have ver passed th hse. i regret that i voted for because iraq was an unnecessary war, but that's hisry but we artain about learning from history and dealing with the present and the fure. therefore, there is no reason that the leadership of the house, m anwi notert the committe o jurisdiction

to bring forwara w aumf. it could b blank aumf oit could mean syria or mbe afghanistan. i av jined with colleagues on thother side, cling ms. lee, to puin h.r. 16666, that says after 16 years, there ed b a debate on the future involvement of the american people and the mity in to afghanistan. we have 300 members of ness sti on the floor day in and day o, who ve never been part of a debate or vote on the future of afghanistan. $800 billion spent, 2,000 americans killed and 20,000 wounded, if we do not ha a deba onwhether we stay? afghanistan or we tk ou

coming home, then our leadership in the house on nodog their constutional duty either. tonight, i wanted to be very supportive and i have and ms. lee and iave been as it dls with syri afghanistan and iraq, it is time for u t emand fromur leadership -- i don't bmeheredents, trump or obam io not blame them, because it is or reonbility.as madison s very clear, is e legislativ branch that will dete and declare war, not the ecive branch. anwhat we he done with thes aumf'srom 2001 and002, we have aicated o responsibility. and i know how ms. lee feels. but it's up to us to demand from

oureadership, don't wait fo a president to give dirtion, because madison was very clear. its our responsibility. so mr., ryan, speaker of t house, i have written you additnal letters with my colleagues on the other side asking you to permits toave our constutnal responsibility to et our constitutional responsibility. t this point, we have had no luck and i'mskghe speaker of th hus tdirect the committees of jurisdictiono come rward with one of these bills hat have been introduced by mslee a oher membersf the democratic party and tho of us in the republican party, come fward and t's have a refresher course, to spk, on the constitutional responsibility. i have camp le jue june in my

district. i ve been there fiv times to ghanisn ande aid it'sot worth dime to tre and we are spending blis and billions o dollars. i sned over 10,0 letters to families and exend familie who lost loved ones because i knew ihouldnt ve voted to o into there d i'm living with my mistake. but i join you and others to say we have constitutional responsily to debat war if we are going to send our men and women into war, we ought to debatet. i lo rward to wking with you as we g forrd and we need to put esre on e leadehito allow us to meet ouresponsibilities. thaing you foriving me the tim s. lee: thankyo congressman joes, for your statement tonit and your leadership. and i think listening toound

congrema yoho and workin with our colleagues ia bipartisan way, we have to keep hope alive on this bauur young men and men an our cotution and country derves it and you have been here since the binngo put congress back into ctn beuse we have been missing n action. would ke to yield to my colleague silicon valley right . door tmy district thank u or being here. chaunchaun thank you f your vision in making sure that congress votes on matters of war and peace. many americans supported strikes on the people who attacked us, but no one, no one in this

country would have thought that aesuon wou be ud for perpetual r. u d eougeac tn d t fesht tstd u wi cra and sta u agn resoluti ttwod ve-haha poved a anchk f te st6 ar. nd dbeevth tt is thtype of politil ure atneay will beemembered hto. apld you f at he en that sie00, th terroristswhh re ntneon the afghaniapast bder, have sea they hav spread the middle et. they hepread to afca and it's out time wt have all these intveions gotten us? an this is not a partisan iue conesan jonust articulated does ba to

john quincy adams and saide ght n go erseas tpl monsteranhe sd we should give people who seek freem ur voi a prayers. ase outoesoy nsters, we wi be se not as a liberang for becse we won'tkn w the peoe a. i wish every nor would rea jo in am iig. 40 ofhe cnt o afghanistan is not unr our ctr. e reason i was brner and the pakistani-di board, er are50,000ros to take ce of that. do aone think sending 10,0 troopss accomplishing anytng?

it's n. it is further antagonizinan putti our people at rk. anwhyr ass d make syria a magnet andow in yen wre w areidghe saudi ab veme which is aligned with al qae a al qae wch has claimeesonse biltorhe soeomr om of the bombin or thenderwear mber in this country. we are intrving in a place ere we e actuay ppti oups that are harming us. ndllou a sayings w ought t dat tse isss. andhe ameca pople oughto know what these interventis e gtg us and w we are not safe ahy ware n having tugfu pocy ipplaudour vioand

earship. kowhat htory wll viice u. ms. l: i want toha the gentlanfrom california fo h kd wdan aoo clarity and visn an nderstanding that we must pealthis authozaonous force nd put coreacin th m. thanyou vermu f bei re ow muc te do he left, mad sak? th speak p tempore:he gentled h oeinute. . ee: i will cse nownd stncagn k r speaker vy mp qstionnd that why he has not schedulea deba o thivitalise that afcts o nional curity. ask over andvean ov ain for a vte torepeal ts utrization. we nt aebe. an wean to hava new vote.

as on the current reati ats ki pces it leso e e f fcey ou own goveme. in fruary of 2015, congressman ltt enge mtionedhat eside oma sena scific au mmpfmp and was ner k up noak nhearings, nformal dete n one te. noeava new president tat is continuing to use the tded 2001 mfnxpand waysncludi iennmo troops to sria and more dollars an putng ourmeanwomen in harm's way. thank y t theembersho reerla night. iopmembers comeo e oo to eoag thespker t brin till.

e eer pro temporeoes the gtlela he ti. . lee: i yieldac epeer pro tempo: es the ntlela have a motion ms. lee: to aon. i do he a moti tadur the speaker pro teor the ueio iothmotiono adjon. those inavor s a. ho opseo the ayes havet. the moons